Here I Am
by Torina Archelda
Summary: Inu thinks that he had caused Kagome unhappiness since the moment he met her... What can she do to change his mind? InuKag One shot?


Hey! Torina here with a new fic! I only have the outline of this fic in my head, so I dunno if it'll be a one-shot or not… I'll tell you at the end of the chappie when I'm done writing and have decided. R&R, peeps!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu or the songs I used. But I don't remember what the songs are called or who wrote them, so… Deal.

Here I Am

Kagome couldn't believe it. Finally, after so long… This was it. She looked at the people around her and smiled gently. Her greatest dream was finally being fulfilled… Aside from Inuyasha loving her, of course. But that was no longer a goal… She embraced her family and grasped Inuyasha's hand gently. "Thanks for coming," she said quietly.

"Feh," he replied. "You asked me to, didn't you?"  
She smiled. "Hai. But that doesn't stop me from appreciating it."

Inuyasha turned to hide his blush, and Kagome turned to usher her family away. Souta complained, and Kagome retorted, "You want to get good seats, don't you?"

Souta saw the logic in her statement and (for once) complied. Still grinning, Kagome turned to Inuyasha. "You'd better go with them," she said. "I want you to be able to see, too!"

Inuyasha sighed. "Okay…" He was reluctant to leave Kagome's side, even for a few minutes.

The miko misinterpreted his silence and said softly, "You didn't have to come if you didn't want to…"

His head shot up in surprise. "Who said I didn't want to come?" he replied, gathering her into his arms. "I just don't want to leave you."

Kagome giggled and kissed him softly. "It's only twenty feet, silly!"

"That's twenty-one feet too far," he murmured, running his fingers through her hair.

"I'll miss you too," she said, "but the concert starts in five minutes, and I have to get ready."

Inuyasha sighed in compliance. "Fine… Good luck, koi."

"Thanks."

Inuyasha watched her retreating figure as long as he could before going out in search of Kagome's family. _There are so many scents in this place!_ he thought in frustration. _How am I ever gonna find them?_

As if on cue, a loud voice rang out through the stadium. "Hey! Inu-no-onii-chan! Over here!"

He looked up to see Souta waving for him to join them. _Speak of the Devil…_

He reached them just in time. As soon as he took his seat, a tall man dressed in black came onstage and said, "Hello, everyone, and thankyou for joining us tonight! Well, as you know, we're down to our last two contestants tonight, and the winner (determined by you) will be named the best vocal performer in all the world! First up is Juan Postabla, from Spain!"

(A/N: I have nothing against Spanish people. I am merely making Juan a bad singer and stuff so Kagome seems better in comparison.)

Juan came out and started talking about his life. And, to put it plainly, Inuyasha was bored. There was only so long you could listen about Juan's alleged 'wonderful conquistador ancestors' and be entertained…

So Inuyasha was glad when the host handed Juan the headset mike and the music started playing.

He would have been happier if Juan had kept talking.

Honestly, Inuyasha had thought that Shippo was a bad singer… This guy was ten times worse. And Shippo was plain awful. His voice had broken the glass pitcher of lemonade Kagome had brought them two weeks ago. So you really had to pity Inuyasha. This guy had one strongpoint- he sure could project his voice. So when you draw attention to the fact that Inuyasha's ears amplified sound to ten times that of a normal human… Well, let's just say he wasn't in a very good mood.

Juan finally stopped singing (_Thank Kami_), and the room was silent, aside from one pair of hands clapping. Ignoring the ringing in his ears, Inuyasha searched the stadium for the source of the noise. Who on earth could enjoy such an awful sound? After a moment of looking around, he spotted the source of the noise… And snorted. _Figures… Only a deaf guy could like that crud._

"Hey, old man!" he called, glaring at Kagome's grandfather. "Quit it, would ya? In case you hadn't noticed, you're the only one in this whole stupid stadium who's clapping!"

Mr. Higurashi had, no doubt, a less-than-witty comeback prepared, but he was interrupted by the music that suddenly filled the building. Inuyasha looked down to see the curtains parting to reveal a stunning Kagome. She was wearing a long, shimmering silver dress, and her hair was flying out with the momentum it gained as she twirled. He was so captivated by her that he almost missed the beginning of her song.

_Ever since I was a little girl _

_Ever since I took my first step _

_And said my first hello _

_I've been dancing, I've been singing _

_I've been hoping, I've been dreaming _

_I've been praying for a chance to show _

_Show the world that I can be _

_Just like the girls on T.V._

_Here I am, here I am, here I am _

_Isn't it crazy, isn't it wild _

_Here I am, here I am, here I am _

_Isn't it crazy, now isn't it crazy _

_Here I am_

_Like a little voice inside my heart _

_Talking from the very start _

_Telling me which way to go _

_Always try, don't give up _

_If you want it never stop _

_Take your time, if you wanna show _

_Show the world that you can be _

_Just like the girls on T.V._

_Here I am, here I am, here I am _

_Isn't it crazy, isn't it wild _

_Here I am, here I am, here I am _

_Isn't it crazy, now isn't it crazy _

_Here I am_

_Through the fire _

_Through the fire I made _

_Isn't it a little insane…_

_Here I am _

_(Here I am, here I am) _

_(Here I am, here I am)_

_Here I am _

_(Here I am, here I am) _

_Isn't it crazy _

_(isn't it crazy) _

_Here I am _

_(Here I am, here I am) _

_Isn't it crazy, isn't it wild _

_Here I am, here I am, here I am _

_(Isn't it crazy) _

_Now isn't it crazy _

_Here I am… _

_Here I am_

Kagome finished the song with an elegant twirl and faced the clapping audience, face flushed with excitement. Inuyasha could only stare, caught up inside his own mind. That song… It felt as if she was singing from her soul. And the song had paralleled to her life so well… She had confided in him that she had always wanted to be a singer. It had seemed impossible- what with the shards and Naraku tying her down. But it had not truly been either that had stopped her… It had been his own ignorance and determination to drag her back to his era to take care of these things. He had been the reason she had been forced to put her dreams on hold for so long… But now she had the life she had always wanted, and he'd be darned if he was going to interfere with it now. He would go back to Sengoku Jidai and let her get on with her life. Yes, she said she loved him now… But she would get over it, and be much better off for it. And he could be content in knowing that if he had done nothing else with his life, he had made the woman he loved happy…

He sighed sadly and caught up with the Higurashi family, who were rushing down to congratulate Kagome on her victory. There hadn't even been a vote- the clapping had proved that Kagome won by a landslide.

As happy as he was for her, thoughts of his impending fate kept him from giving her more than a forced half-smile. Kagome, noticing this, shot him a concerned look. "Inu? What is it?"

"It's nothing," he replied. "I've just been… thinking."

His attempts to reassure her, however, only caused her apprehension increase. The flock of reporters that suddenly surrounded her, however, caused her to put the conversation on hold. The look that she sent him, however, made it clear that subject was not closed. She would talk to him later… And he wasn't ready for that. He didn't think he'd ever be… He had planned to simply tell her he was leaving, and to trust him that it was for the best. Now, however, it was obvious that he would not get away with that. Kagome would want an explanation… One he didn't know how to give. What was he to say? It's my fault your life has been so terrible and now I'm leaving so you can be happy? He scoffed. She would only try and convince him that he was wrong, and most likely talk him into staying at the same time. It seemed as if she was the only one who didn't realize that he was the cause of all the misery in her life…

THEY GO HOME

"Inuyasha, what's wrong?" Kagome asked gently, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I… I'm going home."

Kagome cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Okaaaaaay… Then I'm going with you."

He shook his head, and a single tear slid down his cheek. "No…" he whispered, trying his best not to sob out loud, "No… You're not."

"What?" Kagome asked, clearly shocked. "But… You always want me to go back with you. Oftentimes even to the point of yelling. Why not now?"

"You see? That's just it. All I ever do is yell and scream at you, and treat you horribly… I love you, Kagome, and that's why I'm leaving. You're everything to me… And I can't stand the fact that I've hurt you so much. I'm going to go away, where I can't hurt you anymore, and accept a life without you as my punishment."

Tears filled Kagome's eyes. "Oh, Inuyasha…" She pulled him into a firm embrace. "I love you… Please don't go."

"You say that now," he whispered. "But these feelings won't last forever. It isn't possible to love a hanyou… Just trust me, Kagome. You'll be better off without me…"

"How can you possibly even begin to think that?" she said softly. "I love you… I always have and I always will."

Inuyasha made a move to speak, but Kagome cut him off.

"Listen…" she whispered. And then she sang…

_If I speak in the tongues of angels _

_But have not love I'm _

__

_Only a resounding noise _

__

_If I have the gift of knowledge _

__

_And if my faith moves mountains high _

__

_But have not love _

__

_I am nothing _

__

_Oh, I know the one who holds _

__

_The stars in the heavens _

__

_In the palm of his hand _

__

_And if I give all I possess _

__

_To the poor and the helpless _

__

_I'll still gain nothing _

__

_Without love _

__

_(Without love) _

__

_Love's patient, true love is always kind _

__

_Love does not envy, never brags _

__

_It's never proud _

__

_Slow the wrath, it keeps no records of _

__

_Wrongs against friends _

__

_Love forgives, we all could use _

__

_Oh, oh, forgiveness _

__

_Oh, I know the one who holds _

__

_The stars in the heavens _

__

_In the palm of his hand _

__

_And if I give all I possess _

__

_To the poor and the helpless _

__

_I'll still gain nothing _

__

_Without love _

_(Without love) _

_Without love_

_Love never fails, love is true _

_Love's the one thing _

_That can always change you _

_Love is patient, love is kind _

_Love's the one reason the world survives _

_(The world survives) _

_Love never fails, love is true _

_Love's the one thing _

_That can always change you _

_Love is patient, love is kind _

_Love's the one reason the world survives_

_Oh, I know the one who holds _

_(I know the one) _

_The stars in the heavens _

_In the palm of his hand _

_And if I give all I possess _

_(All I possess) _

_To the poor and the helpless _

_I'll still gain nothing _

_(I'll still gain nothing) _

_Without love _

_Without love _

_Without love _

_(Without love) _

_(Love is nothing different) _

_(Love is nothing different) _

Inuyasha let the tears run unchecked. All his life, he'd been either hated or feared, chased after because he was different. Other than his mother, no one had ever cared for him, and here was a woman willing to give up everything she had worked so hard for just for him…

"Oh, Kagome…" he whispered, drawing her into a tight embrace. "I'll always love you."

Kagome smiled and leaned up to kiss him. "And I you," she said softly. "And I you…"

Owari

Okay, peeps, what do you think? Like? Don't like? Review and tell me! I dunno if there's gonna be another chappie… Review and tell me if I should or not. I kinda left it on a fluffi note… But that doesn't mean I can't write more fluff in a later chappie. I just don't know… Oh well. Oh, yea, FYI, don't get mad at me if I don't update for a while. My computer is completely shutting down and I'm trying to upload all the fics I've started so I don't lose them (that's why this isn't revised very well and the content is a bit lame). My floppy doesn't work and my hard drive is about to crash… It'll be about two or three weeks till I get a new computer. So… Yea. I need to work on My Sesshomaru and some other one-shots I've been writing, so c ya! Review!

Torina


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